Point-of-sale devices, such as cash registers, rely on physically connecting several different components to provide sufficient connectivity and functionality for customer transaction needs. For example, in recent years it has become popular to connect various peripherals to tablet computers to enable point-of-sale transactions with the tablet computers. This arrangement requires a user to purchase not only the tablet computer and related software, but also several peripherals, such as magnetic stripe terminals, barcode scanners, network connectivity, cash drawers, receipt printers, etc., at significant additional cost and inconvenience. This arrangement also requires the user to configure the tablet computer and/or the peripherals for use with each other, often a time-consuming, frustrating and difficult task, particularly for users without a technical background. Older, more self-contained cash registers did not offer the types of functionality, connectivity, software, interface components, etc. necessary in the commercial environment existing today and into the future.
In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical or similar elements. Additionally, generally, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the drawing in which the reference number first appears.